Lever latch and handle



UNITED STATES JOHN F. VVOLLENSAK, OF lCHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LEVER LATCH -AND HANDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 381,740, dated April 24, 1888. 4

Applicaiion filed September 6, 1887. Serial No. 248,958. (No model.)

T all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, JOHN F. WoLLENsAK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lever Latches and Handles, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to make a lever latch and handle for locking the doors of refrigerators, and other doors, which may be adj usted to tightly close the door, notwithstanding the swelling or shrinkage ofthe wood, and which may be used with equal facility for either a right-hand or a left-hand door; and my invention consists in the features and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure -1 is a front elevation of parts of a door andjamb, showing my improved latch as it appears when the door is latched. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken in the line X X of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken in the lineY Y of Fig. 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows; and Fig. 4 is aside View of the handle'and base-plate for attaching it to the door, partially broken away to show a spring-pin, as hereinafter described.

In the drawings, A represents the latchhandle, B, the base-plate, C, the latching part of the handle; D, the catch on the door-jamb; E, a piece to retain or hold the catch D in a proper position; F, a set-screw passing through the piece E, G, a spring-pin in the handle A, and H a screw or pivot for attaching the handle A to the base-plate B.

In making my improved lever-latch I make a base-plate, B, of circular or other form, to be att-ached by screws or other proper means to the door ofthe refrigerator or other article in connection with which it is intended to be used. I make a handle or lever of any desired form, but preferably corresponding in configuration to that shown inFig. 4 -of the drawings. This handle is intended to be attached to the base-plate B before it is fastened to the door by means of a screwor pivot, H, which, while securely attaching thehandle to the base-plate, permits it to revolve thereon, as will be readily understood by referring to the drawings. rIhis handle is provided with a piece or latch, C, which is intended to engage with the catch on the door-jamb when the door is latched.

The base-plate is also preferablyprovided with one of the holes coincident with each other.v

The holes are sufficiently shallow and the pin sufficiently rounded at its end to permit the pin to be thrown out of the hole and the handle moved farther around with some additional force applied to the handle, while at the same time the pin, resting in one of the holes, will serve to hold the handle in that position until itis thrown out by the exercise ofpositive force.

The arrangement and operation of thepin and the holes will be so apparent from an inspection of Fig. 4 of the drawings that they need not be further described in detail.

A catch, D, is attached to the door-jamb, preferably by means of a screw at the lower end, so that the upper end may be adjusted out or in, as hereinafter described. The up per end of the catch is provided with au offset, so as to leave a recess in which thelatch C may rest when the door is latched. A retainingpiece, E, which passes over the catch D, preferably immediately below the offset in the catch, is secured by screws or otherwise se'- curely fastened tothe door-jamb; butsuflicient space is allowed between the catch and the retaining-piece to permit the catch to be moved out or in sufficiently to permit adjustment. Immediately above the catch D the retainingpiece E is provided with a threaded hole and a set-screw, F, adapted to be screwed in or out of the hole. The outer portion of this hole is preferably enlarged to receive the head of the set-screw F, so that the same will be sunk, as shown in Fig. 2, to afford aneater appearance and greater security from interference with the screw by children or other thoughtless persons. Theinner end of theset-screw is adapted to bear against the catch Dand force it inward until it rests closely against the door-jamb or screwed out away from the catch D, so that the catch need not rest tightly against the doorjamb, but may be drawn back as far as desired from the same.

IOO

As the door becomes swelled from moisture or other cause, the catch can be drawn back by loosening the set-screw, as before explained, and as the wood becomes shrunk from the action of heat or other causes the catch can be forced in and closer to the door-jamb by turning the set-screw in. In this way the position of the catch can be adjusted out and in by means of the sctscrew, so that the door can always be latched with a proper degree of tightness when the latch C is turned into the catch D. All straining of the parts when the door is swelled and all looseness of closing when the door is shrunk can be avoided by adjusting the set-screw from time to time -as occasion may require; and, as above explained, the handle A may be turned entirely around on the plate B, thus adapting the lock and handle to either a righthand or a left hand door.

Iam aware that catches have been attempted to be made adjustable out and in to adapt the lock to the condition of the door before now; but in all these cases a rubber block or other spring has been relied upon as the means of adjustment; but as metal springs will soon become rusty and inefcient, and as rubber springs will become hard and lose their elasticity, they have been found objectionable in use, as the means employed by me and above described cannot be.

As intimated above, the form ofthe various parts is a matter of minor importance. The handle may be made of any size and shape desired, as its only office is to afford means for nnlatching and opening and closing the door, and the catch and other parts may be modified in form and size to suit the convenience of the manufacturer. Vhen, therefore, refer in the claims to the various parts by letter, I do not mean to indicate that I limit myself to parts of the size or form designated by such letters in the specification and drawings.

Vhat I regard as new, and desire to secu re by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a lever-latch, the combination of a latch, C, a catch, D, a retaining-piece, E, and a set-screw, F, substantially as described.

2. In a lever-latch, the combination of a handle, A, provided with a spring-pin, G, a base-plate, B, provided with a hole or holes,

g, a latch, C, and a catch, D, substantially as u described.

3. In a lever-latch, the combination of a handle, A, provided with a spring-pin, G, a baseplate, B, provided with a hole or holes, g, a latch, C, a catch, D, and a setscrew, F, substantially as described.

JOHN F. \VOLLEJSAK. lVitnesscs:

C. It. WoLLnNsAK, GEORGE G. Coon. 

